The orderly came back in a few minutes with a rifle（步枪）and some Burmans. He told us that the elephant was in the rice fields below, only a few hundred yards away. As I started forward practically the whole population of the quarter flocked out of the houses and followed me. They had seen the rifle and were all shouting that I was going to shoot the elephant. It was fun to them, as it would be to an English crowd; besides, they wanted the meat. It made me a little uneasy. I had no intention of shooting the elephant—I had merely sent for the rifle to defend myself—and it is always uneasy to have a crowd following you. I marched down the hill, looking and feeling a fool, with the rifle over my shoulder and an ever-growing army of people knocking and pushing at my heels. Beyond the huts there was a rice field a thousand yards across, muddy from the first rains. The elephant was standing eight yards from the road. He took not the slightest notice of the crowd. He was tearing up bunches of grass, beating them against his knees to clean them and feeding them into his mouth.
As soon as I saw the elephant I knew with perfect certainty that I ought not to shoot him. It is a serious matter to shoot a working elephant — it is comparable to destroying a huge and costly piece of machinery. There, peacefully eating, the elephant looked no more dangerous than a cow. I thought then and I think now that his attack of “must” was already passing off, in which case he would merely wander harmlessly about. Moreover, I did not in the least want to shoot him.
But at that moment I glanced round at the crowd that had followed me. It was an immense crowd, two thousand at the least and growing every minute. I looked at the sea of the faces above the colorful clothes—faces all happy and excited over this bit of fun, all certain that the elephant was going to be shot. They were watching me as they would watch a magician about to perform a trick. They did not like me. But with the magical rifle in my hands I was momentarily worth watching. And suddenly I realized that I should have to shoot the elephant after all. The people expected it of me and I had got to do it; I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward. And it was at this moment that I first felt the hollowness, the uselessness of the white man's control in the East. Here was I, standing in front of the unarmed crowd—seemingly the leading actor; but in reality only a puppet (傀儡). I understood in this moment that when the white man turns ruler of complete power it is his own freedom that he destroys.
【小题1】The people were glad to think the elephant was to be shot mainly because ______.

The orderly came back in a few minutes with a rifle（步枪）and some Burmans. He told us that the elephant was in the rice fields below, only a few hundred yards away. As I started forward practically the whole population of the quarter flocked out of the houses and followed me. They had seen the rifle and were all shouting that I was going to shoot the elephant. It was fun to them, as it would be to an English crowd; besides, they wanted the meat. It made me a little uneasy. I had no intention of shooting the elephant—I had merely sent for the rifle to defend myself—and it is always uneasy to have a crowd following you. I marched down the hill, looking and feeling a fool, with the rifle over my shoulder and an ever-growing army of people knocking and pushing at my heels. Beyond the huts there was a rice field a thousand yards across, muddy from the first rains. The elephant was standing eight yards from the road. He took not the slightest notice of the crowd. He was tearing up bunches of grass, beating them against his knees to clean them and feeding them into his mouth.

As soon as I saw the elephant I knew with perfect certainty that I ought not to shoot him. It is a serious matter to shoot a working elephant — it is comparable to destroying a huge and costly piece of machinery. There, peacefully eating, the elephant looked no more dangerous than a cow. I thought then and I think now that his attack of “must” was already passing off, in which case he would merely wander harmlessly about. Moreover, I did not in the least want to shoot him.

But at that moment I glanced round at the crowd that had followed me. It was an immense crowd, two thousand at the least and growing every minute. I looked at the sea of the faces above the colorful clothes—faces all happy and excited over this bit of fun, all certain that the elephant was going to be shot. They were watching me as they would watch a magician about to perform a trick. They did not like me. But with the magical rifle in my hands I was momentarily worth watching. And suddenly I realized that I should have to shoot the elephant after all. The people expected it of me and I had got to do it; I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward. And it was at this moment that I first felt the hollowness, the uselessness of the white man's control in the East. Here was I, standing in front of the unarmed crowd—seemingly the leading actor; but in reality only a puppet (傀儡). I understood in this moment that when the white man turns ruler of complete power it is his own freedom that he destroys.

1.The people were glad to think the elephant was to be shot mainly because ______.

A．it had damaged their homes and crops

B．it would provide them with meat

C．it would make them feel entertained

D．it was spoiling their rice fields

2.When the writer saw the elephant he felt       .

A．foolish            B．afraid             C．pitiful            D．confident

3.The writer realized that he had to shoot the elephant because        .

A．shooting elephants is a serious problem

B．everybody expected it of him

C．he did not wish to disappoint the rulers

D．he had to show how guns are fired

4.What does the writer intend to tells us when he tells the story?

A．Leading actors are sometimes foolish puppets.

B．Government for white people are useless.

C．Power can sometimes turn people imprisoned.

D．Unarmed crowds are in control of everything.

The orderly came back in a few minutes with a rifle（步枪）and some Burmans. He told us that the elephant was in the rice fields below, only a few hundred yards away. As I started forward practically the whole population of the quarter flocked out of the houses and followed me. They had seen the rifle and were all shouting that I was going to shoot the elephant. It was fun to them, as it would be to an English crowd; besides, they wanted the meat. It made me a little uneasy. I had no intention of shooting the elephant—I had merely sent for the rifle to defend myself—and it is always uneasy to have a crowd following you. I marched down the hill, looking and feeling a fool, with the rifle over my shoulder and an ever-growing army of people knocking and pushing at my heels. Beyond the huts there was a rice field a thousand yards across, muddy from the first rains. The elephant was standing eight yards from the road. He took not the slightest notice of the crowd. He was tearing up bunches of grass, beating them against his knees to clean them and feeding them into his mouth.
As soon as I saw the elephant I knew with perfect certainty that I ought not to shoot him. It is a serious matter to shoot a working elephant — it is comparable to destroying a huge and costly piece of machinery. There, peacefully eating, the elephant looked no more dangerous than a cow. I thought then and I think now that his attack of “must” was already passing off, in which case he would merely wander harmlessly about. Moreover, I did not in the least want to shoot him.
But at that moment I glanced round at the crowd that had followed me. It was an immense crowd, two thousand at the least and growing every minute. I looked at the sea of the faces above the colorful clothes—faces all happy and excited over this bit of fun, all certain that the elephant was going to be shot. They were watching me as they would watch a magician about to perform a trick. They did not like me. But with the magical rifle in my hands I was momentarily worth watching. And suddenly I realized that I should have to shoot the elephant after all. The people expected it of me and I had got to do it; I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward. And it was at this moment that I first felt the hollowness, the uselessness of the white man's control in the East. Here was I, standing in front of the unarmed crowd—seemingly the leading actor; but in reality only a puppet (傀儡). I understood in this moment that when the white man turns ruler of complete power it is his own freedom that he destroys

1. 1.

   The people were glad to think the elephant was to be shot mainly because ______.
   

   1. A.
      it had damaged their homes and crops
   2. B.
      it would provide them with meat
   3. C.
      it would make them feel entertained
   4. D.
      it was spoiling their rice fields
2. 2.

   When the writer saw the elephant he felt______.
   

   1. A.
      foolish
   2. B.
      afraid
   3. C.
      pitiful
   4. D.
      confident
3. 3.

   The writer realized that he had to shoot the elephant because______.
   

   1. A.
      shooting elephants is a serious problem
   2. B.
      everybody expected it of him
   3. C.
      he did not wish to disappoint the rulers
   4. D.
      he had to show how guns are fired
4. 4.

   What does the writer intend to tells us when he tells the story?

   1. A.
      Leading actors are sometimes foolish puppets
   2. B.
      Government for white people are useless
   3. C.
      Power can sometimes turn people imprisoned
   4. D.
      Unarmed crowds are in control of everything

Since my family were not going to be helpful, I decided I would look for one all by myself and not tell them about it till I’d got one.

    I had seen an agency (中介机构) advertised in a local newspaper. I rushed out of the  61  in search of it. I was wildly excited, and as  62   as if I were going on the stage. Finding the  63   quite easily, I ran breathlessly through a door which said “Enter without knocking, if you please.”

    The simple atmosphere of the office   64   me. The woman looked carefully at me  65  through her glasses, and then  66   me in a low voice. I answered softly. All of a sudden I started to feel rather   67   . She wondered why I was looking for this sort of   68   . I felt even more helpless when she told me that it would be   69   to get a job without   70   . I wondered whether I ought to leave,   71  the telephone on her desk rang. I heard her say: “  72  , I’ve got someone in the  73   at this very moment who might  74  .” She wrote down a  75  , and held it out to me, saying: “ Ring up this lady. She wants a   76   immediately. In fact, you would have to start tomorrow by cooking a dinner for ten people.”

    “ Oh yes,” said I —  77  having cooked for more than four in my life. I  78   her again and again, and rushed out to the   79   telephone box. I collected my thoughts, took a deep breath, and rang the number. I said confidently that I was just what she was looking for. I spent the next few hours   80   cook books.

1.A. bed    B house    C. agency           D. office

2.A. proud                B. pleased          C. nervous        D. worried

3.A. family        B. door              C. place     D. stage

4.A. calmed      B. excited         C. frightened             D. disturbed

5.A. as usual     B. for a while    C. in a minute            D. once again

6.A. advised     B. examined             C. informed      D. questioned

7.A. encouraged       B. dissatisfied           C. hopeless      D. pleased

8.A. place          B. job                 C. advice           D. help

9.A. difficult               B. helpless                 C. possible        D. unusual

10.A. ability       B. experience   C. knowledge            D. study

11.A. after         B. since     C. until               D. when

12.A. Above all          B. As a matter of fact         C. As a result            D. In spite of that

13.A. family       B. house   C. office           D. restaurant

14.A. hire          B. accept  C. suit               D. offer

15.A. letter        B. name    C. note             D. number

16.A. cook         B. help      C. teacher        D. secretary

17.A. almost      B. never    C. nearly          D. really

18.A. answered         B. promised       C. thanked        D. told

19.A. outside    B. local      C. closest         D. nearest

20.A. borrowing        B. buying  C. reading        D. writing

I entered high school having read hundreds of books. But I was not a good reader. Merely bookish, I lacked a point of view when I read. Rather, I read in order to get a point of view. I searched books for good expressions and sayings, pieces of information, ideas, themes-anything to enrich my thought and make me feel educated. When one of my teachers suggested to his sleepy tenth-grade English class that a person could not have a "complicated idea" until he had read at least two thousand books, I heard the words without recognizing either its irony (嘲讽) or its very complicated truth. I merely determined to make a list of all the books I had ever

read. Strict with myself, I included only once a title I might have read several times. (How, after all, could one read a book more than once?) And I included only those books over a hundred pages in length. (Could anything shorter be a book?)

     There was yet another high school list I made. One day I came across a newspaper article about an English professor at a nearby state college. The article had a list of the "hundred most important books of Western Civilization." "More than anything else in my life," the professor told the reporter with finality, "these books have made me all that I am." That was the kind of words I couldn't ignore. I kept the list for the several months it took me to read all of the titles. Most books, of course, I hardly understood. While reading Plato's The Republic, for example, I needed to keep looking at the introduction of the book to remind myself what the text was about. However, with the special patience and superstition (迷信) of a schoolboy, I looked at every word of the text. And by the time I reached the last word, pleased, I persuaded myself that I had read The Republic and seriously crossed Plato off my list.

1. On hearing the teacher's suggestion of reading, the writer thought______.

    A. one must read as many books as possible.

    B. a student should not have a complicated idea.

    C. it was impossible for one to read two thousand books.

    D. students ought to make a list of the books they had read

2. While at high school, the writer_________.

    A. had plans for reading                  B. learned to educate himself

    C. only read books over 100 pages           D. read only one book several times

3. The underlined phrase "with finality" in the second paragraph probably means_________.

    A. firmly         B. clearly        C. proudly        D. pleasantly

4. The writer's purpose in mentioning "The Republic" is to________.

    A. explain why it was included in the list[

    B. describe why he seriously crossed it off the list

    C. show that he read the books blindly though they were hard to understand

    D. prove that he understood most of it because he had looked at every word

5. The writer provides two book lists to________.

    A. show how he developed his point of view

    B. tell his reading experience at high school

    C. introduce the two persons' reading methods

    D. explain that he read many books at high school